Does morality stem from God or a duty to Man?

Question

Or something else...

Answer 1

I truly think the roots of all behavior stem from two basic urges: self-preservation and preservation of species. When people act selfishly (in a way that may be either immoral, moral, or amoral), they are motivated by self-preservation. When they act selflessly to help others, they are acting on an inherited desire to preserve their species.

Humans are not the only species to have these two basic drives. Many animals have a strong mothering/parenting instinct that motivates them to protect their offspring even if they must sacrifice their own life to do so. It makes sense that species who protect their offspring or each other would stand a better chance of maximizing the number of individuals who survive until the age of reproduction, thereby maximizing the survival chances of the species as a whole. Therefore, selflessness and concern for others is an inherited instinct acquired during the evolutionary process.

In social and pack animals, this instinct to protect one's own offspring is extended to include others' offspring as well. In humans, the instinct is extended to include those who belong to the same tribe, ethnic group, religion, nation, neighborhood, or all of humanity.

All morality can pretty much be traced back to the Golden Rule, which in turn can be traced back to the drive to survive as a species as well as an individual.

Answer 2

I wouldn't say "duty"

Morality stems from our being social creatures, and from our aptitude for abstract reasoning.

That is, we are able to put ourselves in other people's place and experience their suffering vicariously, recognizing that their suffering sucks as much for them as it would (or has or does) to us.

And we are generalizers.

And we're critters who can take take the long view.

These are the sources of morality.

Don't need no god to have morality. All we need is us.

Answer 3

Both.
God put the law into our hearts and we are moral so that we do not hurt ourselves or others.